CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: "Interview with Rep. Ilhan Omar"

Interview

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BLITZER: All right. Everybody, stand by. We're getting a lot of reaction. Joining us right now Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a member of

the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Congresswoman, thanks so much for joining us, this is a historic day here in Washington, D.C., as you well know.

You have said that this is an act of constitutional responsibility -- why do you think the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi decided that now is the time to open this formal, official impeachment inquiry?

REP. ILHAN OMAR, (D-MN): Yeah, it's been really important for the speaker to make sure that this impeachment investigation wasn't going to be about political expedience.

She wanted to make sure that there was an opportunity for there to be an understanding about what laws were being broken. And I think it's very clear at the moment that a law has been broken, and she's ready to move on impeachment.

As we have been -- you know, many of us have been talking about how this president thinks he's above the law, and how we needed to hold him accountable. And I'm very excited that she's finally onboard and that we can start this process with leadership in tow.

BLITZER: Why do you think, Congresswoman, that the -- this Ukraine phone call and the whistleblower's complaint triggered this formal inquiry, but not necessarily the Mueller report?

OMAR: Yeah, I think, as the speaker used to say, this president is in the process of self-impeachment, and this is the straw that broke the camel's back. This particular incident shows that the president clearly thinks he's above the law.

He is withholding aid so that he can pressure a foreign country to dig dirt on a potential presidential opponent. That is very unconstitutional, and we must hold him responsible.

BLITZER: Do you believe Democrats, though, have squandered some really valuable time over these past several months by waiting until now to launch this official impeachment proceeding?

OMAR: The speaker has said today that sometimes the time finds us, and we are at a moment where the time has found us.

It is time for us to act, and I'm excited for that to take place.

BLITZER: I guess the bottom line is many Democrats, as you know, they've been calling the ongoing Judiciary Committee investigation -- Jerry Nadler's Committee -- an impeachment investigation -- a formal impeachment investigation.

So will this new phase announced today by the speaker really be any different?

OMAR: She said she wanted impeachment investigation to take place, and she wanted it to be swiftly done.

And I think the way that the Committee chairs understood it was that they have her full support in moving this process as swiftly as possible, so that we can protect our democracy and make sure that the law of the land is held to the highest level, and that we are doing the work of protecting our democracy and upholding our Constitution.

BLITZER: Do you have any concerns, Congresswoman, about choosing the phone call between the president of the United States, the new president of Ukraine as the jumping point for an impeachment inquiry when you, and none of us, have yet seen the official transcript -- the unredacted transcript? And certainly none of us have seen the whistleblower's complaint.

OMAR: Chairman Schiff just announced that the whistleblower is going to come and testify in front of his committee.

We already know that the president himself has said that -- the president himself and his supporters have been on the record talking about Joe Biden and his son as being the reason that they were talking to Ukraine.

So we have enough information to know that a law has been broken, and we look forward to learning more as the whistleblower comes and speaks in front of committee.

BLITZER: Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, thanks so much for joining us on this very important, historic day.

OMAR: Thank you so much for having me, Wolf.

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